A Lesson in Loyalty: Japanese Dog Refuses to Leave Injured Friend Behind

One of the latest news clips to emerge from Japan offers a moving example of ultimate dog loyalty, and clearly illustrates the challenges faced by animal victims of the earthquake and tsunami.
Yesterday, we asked you to consider donating to relief efforts for animals impacted by Japan’s natural disasters. Today, we show you why.

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The stronger dog was merely coming towards the people probably hoping it was his master…his small bark was not a “Warning” — if he were vicious he would have charged the men and continued barking while retreating back to his injured friend — another post is indicating they were rescued, but now they are seperated and as a bonded pair need to be reunited once healthy and hopefully reclaimed by their owner — get well soon!

I’d just like to say damn you dog lovers are stupid… this is JAPAN not HAITI or Chile! The news reporter is from an international japanese station called NHK… he didnt simply upload it to youtube. Its obvious they were the first ones at the scene… And being the first ones you’re supposed to asses the area you’re not supposed to jump right and blindly help.

If you seriously think news reporters on a 24/7 news channel would just leave a pair of dogs to die then you’re just dumb trash, im sorry…

Yes, they put all kinds of trash on you tube- this are two poor animals in need. Why would it not be a good thing to do? Dog is man’s best friend!!!! Or did you forget that? They have more heart than some humans.

How can judge these poor people? I am a dog lover too, but when you have destruction all around you from an earthquake, complete towns and cities swept away in a tsunami and live in an area with the air saturated with radiation, and don’t have housing for yourself, can’t get water or food, have been in the same clothes for days, in WINTER, perhaps saving these dear animals isn’t even possible! Americans (and the world) can and should be learning from the Japanese. Though they are homeless, their loved ones drowned and missing, they remain HUMBLE, and honorable, putting others before themselves. We have a disaster here, and what do our citizens do? They loot business, hoard, complain, etc. I would hope before others comment about Japan saving this dog or any dog, to look at the entire picture, and ask yourself what you would do? Be THANKFUL you are warm, have shelter and food tonight and are able to care for your pets! geez!

I agree help them their living beings as well. I know my babies would have to be ripped from my arms for me not to have them with me. they’d be my first priority. Its horrible what happened in Japan all need help!

I always put the lives of animals before humans. Dogs especially, love unconditionally, they are the most loyal. Not once have I seen these traits in humans. I come from an array of races. The Japanese arent the problem, its human kind.

Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one… that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~Mark Twain

I like dogs better than people too, but historically, when the shit hits the fan, we all pull together.I know our corrupt government has put us all in a very bad place, but I am tired of people putting all folks down for the actions of a few. If all of us are what you say, we wouldn’t have helped Katrina dogs or be organizing a World Vets deployment to Japan to save the animals. Wake up and smell the roses everybody!

Kim – Of course the world is looking at the entire picture!!! Of course the rest of us are thankful for what we have because at any moment, this could be US! And YES, Americans could learn from the Japanese culture, as they are a culture that helps each other and would not even think of looting or taking advantage of people in a bad situation. But what you aren’t remembering is that these people are grieving for the loss of their pets as well as their family members. Just because we see them on TV sobbing, do we automatically assume they are crying only for their human loved ones? Did we not learn from Katrina? When faced with such devastating and complete loss, often their pets are all they have left to cling to – their only connection to what once was. They aren’t any different from us – they grieve and bleed and die just like we do. And in a culture that places such importance on life, would you not think that the lives of their pets are important, too?

My prayer for the Japanese people. I truly admire
their patience, humbleness, discipline and strong family values. In the face of calamity that came
into their lives they remain calm and hopeful inspite of so much pain and sadness.

Finally a sensible person. However much you may love your pets, anybody saying that they’d save a dog rather than a person is just sick. Sort your priorities out! It’s easy to complain about other people’s “lack of loyalty” if you’d let them die in the first place just so that you could save a dog. Some of the posts here really are infuriating. These people have friends and family they need to care for, as well as neighbours and people they don’t even know. A person you don’t know is someone else’s loved one. If you just can’t be bothered, then don’t complain about human nature, because you clearly aren’t one of the best examples of humanity. Having said this, I’m glad the dogs were rescued.

If people are worthy enough for a dog to risk their life saving, then something sure is wrong with somebody who says they love dogs so much that they would save a dog before saving a human life! If all humans felt that way, then we as the human race would not be worthy of the dog’s love or God’s love for that matter! Thank God we don’t all have that attitude and whoever posted that here should do some serious soul searching because we are made in God’s image and are a wonderful creation. That’s what MY DOGS think about me anyway!

Never forsaken, Are a wonderful creation? Us humans? LOL! What on earth have we ever done but destroy? We are cruel, vicious, we destroy the nature and pretty much everything else we touch. And I know this isn’t true for all people, but tbh for most people it is. But as for all the problems in this world, which one of them was caused by any other animal than human kind? Things like that is our own fault for destroying this world by cutting down the forests, using up the finite resources and ruining the ozone layer. Tbh the animals are the ones that should be saved, not humans.

i agree, but who said that we shall save dogs before humans, in my opinion both need to be saved but i think since dogs(animals) cant speak for themselves , they are just going by their kind nature, their loyal nature that us humans can follow, as we all can see, this dogs is VERY loyal..something all of us can learn from, we sit here and argue who s going to save who.. well we all need to help one another. Keep in mind,we shoujld know better, these are dogs, and they know better, their owners left them obviously…(not to be mean)

They said we should bring them with us. (knowing Japanese helps before you criticize them).

Then again, you have to think how many animals must have been displaced. They are having trouble feeding the humans….and help can’t get to alot of the places the tsunami hit because the earthquake tore up the roads. It’s not as easy as “do something!” I’m sure alot of Japanese are worried about their pets. I’ve seen alot of videos with Japanese hanging onto their animals tightly. I’m sure some lost their animals and are very worried.

i have believed that if these owners selfishly left their pets behind to die, they should be left behind too. Were able to get their family out, why not show love for your pets by taking them as well, they’re not important enough?. Whats the world coming to.

They are saying that the reason they did not approach the dogs, is because they were not sure if the first dog was warning them away from the other dog in an attempt to protect it. They did not want to get attacked, otherwise they probably would have helped I think.

Thank you, Maika. From their tone, I got the impression they were attempting to help. The video does not show them leaving and my guess is they put down the camera and probably did try to help. They have to approach with caution. If they were to be bitten at a time like this, where would they get help?

Contrary to some of the Comments, I am glad the person who took this footage kept filming …. Now we have this to Share and bring attention to the plight of the animals that are also suffering in Japan. I don’t understand Japanese, but the voices expressed concern for what they were witnessing. Caution should be practiced at first, when coming across a big dog who is confused and distressed. The scene that unfolded is amazing: what they discovered, and the loyalty of the dog for its friend. We know that help was delivered to these two dogs – perhaps precisely because of the efforts of those filming.

“This is what it’s like when we could find the dogs at the actual disaster area. The white has gotten weak but the brown one is not allowing to get closer. The TV crew shot this. We have already got these dog. But it too two hours to take them to the closest shelter. The guys who had done that had the bigger plastic cage on the back of the bike. Having such weight on the back is risky for going the way with no road…Those two dogs are rescued. The one which came close to the camera is in the better condition. The other White, Gray and Black was weak. So it is in the vet clinic in Ibaraki Prefectre. The other dog is in the shelter of the same area. But please know that those two are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help.”

Sakurai works at Butch-Japan – an animal rescue organization. Donations at PayPal can be accepted at [email protected]. If you want to read more, go to his Facebook page, and here.

aww bless there hearts just out there all alone no food or shelter 🙁 breaks my heart to see that but at least they have each other hope they can get some help soooooooon hope they all can get some relief soon 🙁

I would imagine with all that’s going on, nobody can provide much help for these poor things at this point in time. I would hope that whoever was videoing this finally stepped in to do something….. so unbelievably sad…

Exactly, thats what everyone wants to know. did the reporter just got his note n then left them suffering or did they at least help them. i think that when the dog first came to them it was like to let them know that THEY NEED HELP!!!

Please, please let us know that this animal and his companion was received help. I cried when I watched the clip. I just don’t want to know that it made somebody a good “tearjerker” clip, but that in the end, the animal received help. Food and water and medical assistance.

According to a Facebook post both of these Brittany Spaniels have been rescued by the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue & Support and are at a local animal shelter. Please send support funds for this Rescue Group, they are going to need help. As for the Rescue Workers who found these Dog People, if you listen to the voice in the video you can hear this person choking up with emotion just as we all have. You really don’t have to speak Japanese to hear the emotion. My heart goes out to every living being in Japan along with my prayers.

VIA Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support (on facebook)
Regarding the heartbreaking video on Youtube with the two dogs, (one looking out for the weaker companion):

In late afternoon today we got a tip where they may be and went directly to there, It was hit extremely hard as it’s quite near the ocean. We tried to search for them and did for about an hour, but it was getting dark and far too… dangerous considering the condition of the roads (power lines down, houses completely destroyed, fallen, trees everywhere). We had to head back to a safer and lit area. But we will keep trying to locate them.

Thank you for posting this. After watching this video, I can’t get these two poor souls out of my head. I really hope that the dogs can be found and rescued. Best of luck to the group attempting to locate these poor dogs!

my heart is breaking and I am in tears! Those poor babies have collars on, and hopefully their owners are still alive and someone can help them find each other! this is my first time on this page and I will be checking daily to see what happens with these babies

Oh, how that breaks my heart. I hope those that mentioned they are looking for them have found them and been able to help. I hope we can see an update too. And just to imagine how many more similar cases there are therre – just too too much.

every day something else happens, some things make me rejoice but so many things break my heart all over again. how can anyone question the worth of helping these animals? i hope someone was able to help this pair.

I wanted to jump right into the video and grab them both and take them home! I know there is suffering of both humans and animals but we are all God’s creatures and need to be cared for. I hope they were able to pluck them to safety and get them the care they both need. I hope LWD will follow up with a story and post it to Facebook so we will know what happened and not that this was just a photo op! Thank you or in Japanese: Domo arigatoh gozaimasu!

I almost couldn’t watch it. My heart hurts for these 2 dogs. I have to ask, does anyone know what happened to them after the footage was shot?? I just wanted to leap into my laptop and help those two. If I could have I would have. Please keep us all posted on what is going on with all of the displaced and homeless animals in Japan. I do have another question. How is the rising radiation going to affect all of the animals that are near, or far away, from the reactors. The levels are rising all over the country. How can we help??????

What’s the likelihood that these two will be reunited? Do shelters euthanize often in japan, especially at this time? Our family friend rescued dogs from new Orleans and I was wondering if there is a way to rescue animals, such as these 2, in the US. Please let me know if, and how, that can be done. Did these have owners looking for them? Seems they have collars? Update please

I did notice they both had similar collars on which probably means they are from the same household and maybe it has information on it. Hopefully if their owners didn’t die in the sunami, they can be reunited with them. I know it was a Godsend for people in New Orleans to be reunited with pets they were forced to leave during the rescues. Lets just hope and pray for the best.

Oh dear. Fatther in heaven…please I pray to be with the animals in this terrible time of the quakes and tsunami….dear Lord please protect every animal all over the world….we thank you Father for the wonderful beautiful animals you gave uis…..please let someone in Japan take care of all the animals there….Lord please be with the injured ones and the ones that have passed over to you dear Lord…Amen.

Here is the post and link from FB stating these dogs have been rescued!

“This is what it’s like when we could find the dogs at the actual disaster area. The white has gotten weak but the brown one is not allowing to get closer. The TV crew shot this. We have already got these dog. But it too two hours to take them to the closest shelter. The guys who had done that had the bigger plastic cage on the back of the bike. Having such weight on the back is risky for going the way with no road.”

I don’t know.. considering the circumstances in Japan it’s probably doubtful at this point….

Latest update via Ken Sukurai on FB:

“Those two dogs are rescued. The one which came close to the camera is in the better condition. The other White, Gray and Black was weak. So it is in the vet clinic in Ibaraki Prefectre. The other dog is in the shelter of the same area.
But please know that those two are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help.”

Dogs are smarter than the human race that is for sure! My question is this, if they know the dog is hurt and needs medical attention why are they allowing it to stay where it is and not try to help it. The other dog seems gentle and would follow its companion anywhere. These babies need help now.

This was absolutely heartbreaking, and I want to know what happened to those dogs. It looked to me like the brown dog was trying to get the people to go over to his friend, like he was leading them there. I would hate to think they were just left there after they took all that time to film them.

Dogs are loyal ,have more heart then most people in this world,their love is so unconditional these are creatures from God, how can nobody see these videos and not feel the pain in their eyes I can this made me cry just looking at these poor babies. I know their are lots of dogs lovers out there, and with their help these beautiful animals will survive.

“According to a Facebook post from Butch Japan president Kenn﻿ Sakurai, both dogs were found alive in Mito, Ibaraki, thanks to the efforts of Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support, and are currently in the care of a local shelter.”
supitsgarrett 2 hours ago 89

Heartbreaking. I don’t think we should be so quick to judge as we are not there struggling with overwhelming losses. I think the tone of the voices shows compassion but also apprehension. For all we know, the humans felt helpless and took the video in order to get help for these dogs. Perhaps they were afraid of scaring off the brown and white dog and making the situation worse. It sounds as if the dogs got the help they needed from trained professionals. I certainly hope so. And if the video these men took played a part in that, then I thank them.

I’m so glad the dogs were rescued! What brave and compassionate people to go to such effort in such terrible conditions to save these suffering animals. I’m in Louisiana myself and I remember seeing the rescue groups risking their safety to find dogs and cats left behind after Katrina… our pets add so much joy to our lives, and after something like this they have no way to understand what has happened to them. God bless you, animal rescuers in Japan! Obviously the human toll is heartbreaking but the dogs are worthy of rescue as well.

I really hope that someday we’ll know “the rest of the story” of these two. I can’t imagine the devastation that is everywhere for them right now. It seems like they were trying to help, but they might not have any resources to offer at the moment. I can’t judge them because I’m not there.

Thank you so much to those who took the time to translate or do research for more information. This entire situation is a tragedy, but it was just heart-wrenching to watch those two dogs who appear well-fed, taken good care of, with matching vanity dog tags, who are clearly from the same family, but all alone, lost and injured. I believe either their family was harmed in some way or their family was helpless and separated from their two beloved dogs. Either way, those two animals represented so much suffering.

Now that we know they have been helped it makes the whole situation so much more hopeful.

To be Honest if someone hadn’t filmed this we would have never seen it.. As sad as it is sometimes ppl behind the camera have to do there job for the grater good. Thank god for ppl who expose themselvef everyday to bring the world images like this..

For those of you who are wondering … the news crews basically found the dog … then saw that he went back to his friend (the white dog). They were mentioning that the dog was protecting his friend and they thought the dog was perhaps telling them not to come any closer.

At the end of the clip, just before it cut off, the main guy was asking whether or not anyone had any food on them … then the video cut off. =)

I was so upset when I saw this, just like everyone else. I would like to know if a film crew filmed this, why is there not a clip of them being rescued? Another thing, how do we know who this guy is collecting monies on facebook. Butch Japan sells dog food, but how do we know the monies are going to aide the animals? Is there not an official rescue site that we can contribute to? My prayers are with all the animals and humans suffering through this disaster.

“Those two dogs are rescued. The one which came close to the camera is in the better condition. The other White, Gray and Black was weak. So it is in the vet clinic in Ibaraki Prefectre. The other dog is in the shelter of the same area. But please know that those two are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help.”

I’m very happy to tell you that although the reporters who filmed the dogs pointed them out to the rescuers and they are now both safe! It took over 2 hours to get them to the closest shelter, both dogs brought to Mito, Ibaraki. One is staying at the vet clinic and the brown and white one is at the shelter.

I just saw a post on FB from Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support that they are working to track down and confirm that these two dogs have been saved. However, in my scouring of the web for some news on these pups, I found some folks reporting rumors (hopefully) that the shelter dogs may not be held for more than 72 hours, to comply with normal shelter operating policy. I truely hope this is not the case…

The loyalty displayed hear while NOT unique for dogs…is nonetheless heartwarming and inspiring. This is why we love them so very much..they show this loyalty to their humans as well and frankly, humans could learn a lot from our “best friends”. This sort of story is EXACTLY what the world needs to see right now to help us connect to this UNBELIEVABLE tragedy. I have personally experienced severe earthquake conditions but even that pales against what Japan is suffering right now. These beautiful creatures can reconnect us with our own humanity and honestly, the “haters” should really get some help connecting with theirs! I’m so happy that these babies are getting help and they will never understand what they have done to raise awareness of the many layers of this tragedy but may they receive ALL the love they deserve!

There are now reports from people closely following this poignant story, that there is no actual confirmation whether the dogs were indeed rescued and where their current whereabouts are. It is being reported that the spaniel is in a shelter and the more seriously injured dog is getting treatment at another location. Diane Sawyer on ABCNews two nights ago reported that “they are together tonight”. Apparently, several teams of people from animal aid organizations have been trying to track down these dogs whereabouts and their attempts are unsuccessful so far. Also, apparently there is a Facebook page of a man (I believe his first name is Ken) who allegedly rescued the dogs, and people are reporting on other websites, that their inquiries on this particular Facebook page about the dogs whereabouts are not being answered and the inquiries being removed. I hope this outcome is not like the widely reported story of “Snowball” the dog that was forcibly separated from his boy owner’s arms as he boarded an evacuation bus out of New Orleans during the chaotic days after Katrina.
Hopefully, people will update this story, as information on their whereabouts are actually confirmed.

Yahoo had a translation of the dialog. From the gist of it, the camera people thought the one dog was trying to keep them away. Who knows what happened before filming. However, they were also discussing how they had to get the dogs help.

I watch this and just cried, I have 4 dogs of my own and would hope that if anything would happen to me or to them someone would reach out a helping hand, it just goes to show that dogs really know the true meaning in loyalty, caring without judgment, and by your side until the end… It is just really a shame that there are alot of humans that just don’t get that…

Where’s the proof that these two dogs are okay? I went to the Ken Sukurai’s, who supposedly help rescued the dogs, facebook site and saw no proof of the rescue. It’s all claims with no actual evidence. When you ask him, strangely he blocks you from his website. I am a dog lover and it’s really heartbreaking to see what these two dogs went through. It’s even more heartbreaking if these two dogs were not actually rescued. The news stations and reporters are basing the well being of these dogs off of what Ken Sukurai tells them. I really hope that he’s for real and not scamming people for money or even claiming that he helped the dogs just to get fame. Global Animal is doing their best to keep us updated about the whereabouts of these two dogs. Seriously people…anybody can say they rescued the dogs. We need concrete evidence like pictures, actual name of the shelter (to call for updates), not just words.

These Dogs should really be taken care of. They are living just like us!
Come on! Some people are just immature, posting that dog lovers are stupid. They aren’t just our pets, or our friends, They are our family. We should do something with them, Make tee shirts for the animals suffering in Japan, or put cans out so people can donate money in your local gas stations, whatever you have to do to help them. Remember, Not only people are suffering over there…

Ok… So first of all the people who are talking about the Japanese people not helping right away, in my opinion should stop effin complaining. In the end the dogs were saved and are now healthy or on their way to being completely healthy… Also if u dont know the language (I do not) then don’t just assume they arent going to do anything! That seems racist to me! Because anyone with common sense and a non prejudice heart would think first “what are they saying?”.
As for saving animals over people.. It does depend on the person doing the saving. I can’t say what other people should do or feel. Who am i to judge that persons decisions? Im not god thats for sure! I personally would do everything I can to help the people first and then the animals. Whether or not humans do bad evil things or not! Because two wrongs don’t make a right and to say I won’t help another human because the human race does bad, evil things at times, makes me just as bad. We should be striving to make things better! Not sitting here bitching about how bad the world is because of us! And if ur the one sitting here bitching then u are part of the cause for our world going down hill! Personally I don’t even know why the topic of human over dog or vice versa even came up. Aren’t we all commenting on the article and video above? In which the topic brought up wasn’t even the situation? So whoever brought that topic up, sry buddy ur on the wrong site!
Now! With all of that being said, I adopted a beautiful jack Russell terrier mix now named peek boo in march of 2009. She wasn’t even 2 months old and was found wondering the streets. She was a very sickly puppy from the get go but she’s incredibly healthy and happy now. I would do a lot for her. I am young and donnot have kids yet, so for now she is my only baby. However if i had to save my mom dad sister and pup within a certain amount of time she would be the last one that would get out with my help. Because she is loyal and I know she loves us as much as we love her. And if it were up to her she would save us before herself. Therefore I would do the same for her.

So I sincerely apologize for me being off topic according to the article. But my I tensions were to actually try to steer the convo back to where it should be. Please take care everyone!

It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this post and if I may I wish to counsel you some attention-grabbing things or advice. Perhaps you could write next articles relating to this article. I wish to learn even more things about it!